Top 5 Ways To Beat Up Your Hero

When video game characters take damage, it's usually from some kind of deadly hazard or devious antagonist. Since players are in control, they are always indirectly responsible for this pain...but sometimes they have a more deliberate role in the abuse. Whether it's through funny animations, brutal sound effects, or just the satisfaction of seeing a stupid character get what's coming, the bottom line is some games just make it fun to watch your main character get hurt.

Abe is a lovable dope, though misfortune seems to follow him around. Unlike the video game characters that just stop moving when they reach an obstruction, Abe keeps barreling forward – often plowing face-first into a wall. He gets knocked down, growls a bit, and then keeps on going.

Raiden (a.k.a. not Solid Snake) was not very popular at his debut. It's fitting that, within a few minutes of taking control of him, players have the opportunity to make him ingloriously slip and fall on some bird poop on top of the Big Shell.

Gracefully jumping from high places is the signature move of the assassins, but an intentionally botched leap of faith can be strangely satisfying. If you don't like one of the series protagonists, you can just climb to the top of a church and end it all...until the Animus reloads the last checkpoint.

When it comes to pain, you can't beat Saints Row. The whole goal of Insurance Fraud is to hit as many buildings and cars as possible while skidding along the pavement. The resulting carnage is not only a laugh riot, it also rewards you according to how much damage you cause.